


sins of the father

by Trillian_Astra



Category: In the Flesh (TV)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, M/M, Swearing, denial is a river in egypt right?, if i ignore a thing that means it didn't happen right?, mention of suicide
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-08-10
Updated: 2014-08-10
Packaged: 2018-02-12 14:58:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,683
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2114250
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trillian_Astra/pseuds/Trillian_Astra
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Rick survives his dad's attack, but his dad doesn't, and Rick wonders if maybe he can pick up his relationship with Kieren where he left off. Kieren, meanwhile, has other ideas.</p><p>(diverges from canon partway through season 1 episode three)</p><p>(because I am still in denial where Rick Macy is concerned)</p>
            </blockquote>





	sins of the father

When his dad hugged him, for a moment Rick almost felt like he had before, like he was a kid again… almost. Then he felt his dad’s arm shift position, and glimpsed a dull metallic flash, and before he really knew what he was doing, he pushed his dad away, taking a big step backwards.

Bill Macy stumbled momentarily, but soon regained his balance and lunged towards his son, but Rick was faster and pushed him again. This time Bill dropped what was clasped in his hand, and Rick saw a knife fall to the floor. He kicked it behind him before his dad could reach for it again, and looked up to see the look of blank hatred on his father’s face.

“You were gonna kill me, Dad? Just like that?”

Bill stared back. “You’re no son of mine. But my son, _my_ Rick, he’ll be back. Soon as that second rising happens, he’ll be back. But you, whatever you are, you have to be destroyed.”

Rick blinked. “Your… _I’m_ your son, Dad, I am. It’s me, I’m the same person I always was, I am…”

“You are _not_ my son! You’re a _monster_ …”

Bill glanced to his side, where his rifle was lying on the table, and crossed the room. Rick grabbed the knife from the floor and ran out of the house and into the street. Standing on the drive, he shouted back to the house.

“Well come on then, Dad… if you’re gonna kill me, do it out here. Do it where everyone can see what a _hero_ you are!”

Bill Macy stepped out onto the drive, and raised the rifle in his hands to aim. “Yeah. Reckon I will,” he muttered.

His finger never reached the trigger, though, because as he was aiming, a shot rang out and a blossom of red exploded across his chest, and he dropped to the ground.

The rifle clattered down next to him.

Rick looked down at his father’s motionless body, then turned to see where the shot had come from, and was surprised to see Ken Burton standing nearby, holding his antique shotgun.

Burton met his gaze. “He was going to kill you, lad, and I couldn’t stand for that. There’s no need to be killing folk for what they can’t help.” Then the old man turned and walked back to his house, shotgun in one hand. Rick turned back and walked over to his father’s body.

“I came back, Dad,” he said softly. “I went into the army like you wanted. And I came back. I came _back_ , why couldn’t you see that?”

He didn’t know how long he’d been standing there, but after a while he heard a scream and turned around to see his mother, her eyes wide with fear.

“Rick?” she whispered.

“He turned on me, mam. Came after me with the rifle. Mr Burton from ‘cross the street shot him.”

His mother looked from her husband’s body, to her son, and crossed the space between her and Rick, hugging him close.  Rick released that this time he felt exactly like he was a kid again.

***

It turned out that Mr Burton had called the police to report what had happened, and soon an ambulance arrived to take Bill’s body away. That evening, Rick and his mother sat in their front room and wondered what was going to happen now.

Janet Macy looked at her son, and smiled for the first time in what felt like forever, and said quietly. “He was wrong to treat your sort the way he did,” meaning PDS sufferers, a term that Rick was still trying to accept as something that applied to himself. “I mean, there was the Rising, and that was a bad time and people did what was necessary. But the Rising’s long done now, and he was wrong to do what he did.”

Rick managed a half-smile back. “I.. thanks, mam. Uh. I think I’m gonna go out, if that’s all right.”

“Of course, dear. Thinking of going anywhere in particular?”

“Dunno. I thought I might go talk to Ren, actually.”

Janet nodded. “I think that’s a good idea, love. Have a nice night.”

***

Rick was already down the street when he remembered that he wasn’t wearing his cover-up or his contact lenses. But he looked down at his hands, and decided that for tonight at least, he didn’t care.

He walked quickly all the way to the Walkers’ house, rang the doorbell, and waited for someone to answer. It was Kieren’s mum who opened the door, and he told himself to ignore the slight quaver in her voice as she spoke.

“Rick… uh, what a surprise…”

“Um, hi, Mrs Walker. Is Kieren home?”

“He’s upstairs.”

“Could I see him? It’s important.”

Sue Walker looked at him for a moment, then nodded almost imperceptibly. “All right. I’ll get him. Shall I say who it is?”

Rick hesitated. “Uh… yeah, OK, thanks.”

She stepped away, leaving Rick standing in the doorway, and called out. “Kieren! Could you come downstairs? Rick’s here!”

Turning back to Rick, she added, “I’m sure he’ll be down soon. Do you want to come in?”

“Um. OK… I’m not disturbing you, am I?”

“Oh no, of course not.” Rick stepped inside and shut the door behind himself. He heard footsteps on the stairs, and looked up to see Kieren standing halfway down, staring at him.

“Hey,” Rick said.

“What are you doing here?” Kieren said.

“Needed to talk to you, Ren. I don’t think it can wait.”

Kieren studied him for a long time, but eventually he nodded. “Okay. We’ll go for a walk.” He came down the rest of the stairs, quickly told his parents he was going out, and then the two of them were walking back out towards the street.

They were a few houses away before either of them spoke. It was Kieren who started. “So what was it that you wanted to say?”

“It’s complicated.”

“I’m listening.”

“My dad tried to kill me today. He was going to stick a knife in the back of my head.”

“What?!”

“Ken Burton shot him. Saved my life, I guess.”

“Your dad’s… dead?”

Rick nodded wordlessly. Kieren looked up at him, chewed his lower lip, and said,

“I’m sorry.”

Rick blinked. “Huh?”

“I’m sorry he’s dead.”

“He hated you, though…”

“He was still your dad, it’s not like you’ll ever have another one. So yeah, I’m sorry. But I’m sorry for you, and for your mum, yeah?”

Rick understood, and nodded. “Yeah.”

They walked a little further before they spoke again.

“So what are you going to do now?” Kieren said.

“I dunno. Get a job, I suppose.”

“I think Pearl’s looking for people to help out down at the Legion,” Kieren suggested.

“The HVF lot go there, though. Not sure I’d want to be around them too often.”

They walked on in silence for a few minutes. Rick remembered something, and blurted out, “Remember the cave where we used to hang out? We scratched our names into the wall. Rick and Ren forever, yeah? I guess… there’s nothing in our way, now…”

When Kieren didn’t say anything, he glanced at him.

“Ren? You okay?”

Kieren stopped walking. “Do I remember the cave? Are you _joking_ , Rick? I _killed_ myself in that cave, of course I fucking remember it!”

Rick swallowed. “Uh…”

“Do _you_ remember the last time we were there?” Kieren spat at him. “Do you? Because  I do. We’d been messing around, having fun, and it was getting late so we walked back into the village and you said _see you later_ and went home and _I never saw you again_. Because the next day, you fucked off to join the army, and I only found out a week later when your mum met my mum in the supermarket and told her that you’d enlisted and you were in basic training.”

Kieren looked away, and Rick could see his shoulders shaking. “Ren…” he said helplessly.

“Don’t call me that,” Kieren said, still not looking at him. “It hurt, Rick. I thought – I thought I was going to go to art school and you were going to come with me and we’d get a flat together and you’d find a job somewhere and we’d be happy.”

“We could still have that – I mean, the flat and everything – we could still do all that…”

Kieren finally looked at him, and shook his head.

Feeling helpless, Rick reached out and grabbed Kieren’s hand. “We could, though. Look, Re- Kieren, before, I know we messed around together, snuck around to stay away from my dad, but… we don’t have to do that any more.  We could be together, properly together.”

“You swore to me once that you were going sort out _all that shite with your dad_. But you didn’t, you did exactly what _he_ wanted and joined the army instead, and left me back _here_ , by myself. I’m sorry, Rick, but… no. Maybe it might have worked before everything happened, but… it’s too much, I can’t.”

“I thought-“

“I can’t do this, Rick. I’m sorry. You need to go home, and sort out how you feel about your dad, and figure out what kind of person you want to be. I can’t be around to watch that, I just can’t.”

Rick nodded dumbly. “Uh… okay… I understand, mate. You’re right, I guess. I’m screwed up.”

Kieren looked away, and realised that they were near his house. “Um. I’ll see you around, right?”

“Right.” Rick watched as Kieren walked to his house and went inside. Then he started the walk home, knowing that he had a lot to think about.

***

Inside the house, Sue Walker looked up from her magazine as Kieren walked in.

“Hey,” he said.

“You all right, love? Is Rick OK?”

“We had a fight… uh, I don’t really want to talk about it, I’m going to bed.”

“Okay, love. See you in the morning.”

Kieren walked up the stairs to his room, and prayed that he had done the right thing.


End file.
